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Estonia has a brand image as a modern hi-tech nation, but today it’s dealing with some old-fashioned troubling issues. In his private offices at Stenbock House in the capital Tallinn, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip talks to…

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Omi beef from Shiga prefecture is little known outside Japan, but its butter-soft consistency and low fat content means that restaurateurs, meat producers and diners from New York to Australia are starting to take notice…

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A company that started out making bikes for professional cyclists decided to expand into a wider market. The result is customisable models for people who care about design as much as they enjoy a two-wheeled jaunt through…

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The kibbutzim may have been born out of socialist ideals but for years their appeal has been fading. Now, to survive, they’ve formed into profit-making cooperatives and Israelis are returning because of their high living…

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In the next in our series decoding the DNA of success – of anything – we visit a 90-year-old tractor firm in northern Italy that through innovation and careful brand acquisition has quietly remained an engineering power…

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This small colonial town offers great opportunities for overseas buyers thanks to the ease and low cost of purchasing property. It is an enclave of painters, writers and colourful drop-outs, who have flocked here for the…

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Worth billions but well below the radar; big in China but overlooked in London; consummately professional but often part-time – the lounge act is a fascinating and uncharted universe. Monocle explores an undervalued talent…

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Frédéric Malle is a perfumier who knows his croissants, which is why he chose the Café de Flore in Paris – the hang-out of French philosophers in years gone by – for his ‘last meal’. He owns three shops in Paris and his…

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A manga about wine has proven a hit with readers in Japan. It’s written by a brother and sister duo, who spin stories while under the influence; there’s a French edition and it is being made into a Korean TV series.

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Everyone, it seems. From the shopping aisles of one of Europe’s most respected grocery store chains to the meadows of piedmont to the Souk el Tayeb farmers’ market in Beirut, Farmers and their four-legged friends are the…

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When you look out your window, what do you see? Well, in London not enough innovative architecture and too many projects that fail to offer fresh solutions. It’s not just the developers who are to blame – building regula…